Wooden Built Great Teams, Not Title Chasers

The most successful leaders, coaches, and teams in history share one counterintuitive secret: their main focus wasn’t winning. And yet… they won more than everyone else. 

My guest, Don Yaeger, learned this lesson from his mentor: legendary college basketball coach John Wooden. Don is one of my favorite master storytellers, a top business leadership coach, author of 44 books, 13 of them New York Times bestsellers, and a former Associate Editor at Sports Illustrated. Don has worked alongside the greatest athletes of our generation: Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Michael Phelps. But no relationship shaped him more than the 12 years he spent as Coach Wooden's mentee.

Whether or not you're a sports fan, I promise you: the lessons Don shares are as universal as it gets.

We explore what it really means to win in business and in life. The greatest leaders in history already figured this out. The question is why the rest of us aren't following their lead.

In this episode you'll learn: 

➡️ Why the winningest coach in college basketball history never talked about winning (and what he focused on instead)

➡️ The Bill Walton story that reveals how great leaders hold standards without exceptions (even for their best people) 

➡️ How one conversation with John Wooden transformed Don's marriage & the weekly habit he's kept for 16+ years 

➡️ What Delta CEO Ed Bastian's "virtuous cycle" can teach any leader about putting people before results 

➡️ What a great mentor actually look like and how to know when you’ve found one

If you've ever chased the short-term win at the cost of the long game… this episode is the reset you didn't know you needed. 

This… is A Bit of Optimism.

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If you want to read a free chapter from Don's upcoming book The Business of Storytelling, head to: https://www.donyaeger.com/chapter/

Join the Leaderful app! Listeners can use promo code: STORY30 when you download the app or sign up at simonsinek.com.

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Chapters

Chapters

• 00:00:00 The Power of Appreciation: What You Look For, You Find
• 00:02:02 From Delivering Newspapers to Sports Illustrated: Don's Journey to Journalism
• 00:04:21 Don’s 12-Year Mentorship with Coach John Wooden
• 00:06:50 Coach Wooden's Philosophy: Pyramid of Success
• 00:09:00 The Bill Walton Haircut Story: How Wooden Managed Ego and Held Everyone to the Same Standards
• 00:10:33 Building Better Humans, Not Just Better Players
• 00:14:36 The Love Letters That Changed Don's Marriage
• 00:19:35 Looking for Things to Love: The Mindset That Changes Everything
• 00:22:23 Leading with Employee Care Over Customer-First Mentality
• 00:33:55 What True Mentorship Really Means: It's Not Transactional
• 00:47:07 Why Aren't More Leaders Following Coach Wooden's Example?
• 00:53:17 The Best Storytelling Advice: Know Your Audience

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Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

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Photo/Video credits for this episode: https://tinyurl.com/ycxdw52s